Plotter or Pantser

THIS WEEK'S AUTHOR BLOG HOP QUESTION IS: 

Are you a plotter or a panster?

This is a fundamental question posed to writers. Does the author plan or outline or know before she writes the book how the story will play out on the pages? OR does she sit down and just begin writing and let the characters, plot, etc roll out as she writes?

I don't know why we ask this question of fellow writers, just curious to learn tips on how to get that book down on the page perhaps. Readers are interested in how a book develops too.

I have found that plotters are at one end of the extreme and pantsers are at the other. I, like many writers, are in the middle. I don't make a three page outline or a 35 page outline as one author told me, nor do I just jump in willy nilly with no idea how the story will go.

Plotter ------------------------------------------ME---------------------------Pantser

I do scribble down ten to fifteen key ideas to take me in the direction from the beginning of the story to the end. When I begin writing I know the setting and the time frame and I have had the story bubbling up in my head for days. I turn over ideas while I am showering, walking, washing dishes, and right before going to sleep at night (which is annoying). When I sit down to write, I can't wait to get started on the rough draft and race to the end. Then I go back and flesh out the story improving, adding, deleting, etc.

Writing a book is a process. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Just write the way that works best for you...plotter, pantser, or in between.

To read other authors' methods of writing click here.